{"id":512,"date":"2007-11-02T22:57:13","date_gmt":"2007-11-03T05:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/11\/02\/federal-way-blues\/"},"modified":"2013-02-07T18:19:23","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T02:19:23","slug":"federal-way-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/11\/02\/federal-way-blues\/","title":{"rendered":"federal way blues"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just caught this new blog<\/a> by the former principal clarinetist of the Federal Way Symphony, located midway between Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. For those of you who might wonder why union orchestras have contracts to cover working conditions and termination of employees among other matters – these blog entries pretty much sum it up. We’d like to believe that people in the arts behave in the best interests of the entire organization which they administer, but human nature being what it is, if there are no checks on power the temptation to behave capriciously and arbitrarily is often acted upon.<\/p>\n

Here are a few choice excerpts from this excellent accounting of an orchestra gone wrong – first, no contract:<\/p>\n

. . . There was no contract guaranteeing adherence to industry-standard definitions, policies, and procedures. Everything was arbitrary, from working conditions to terms of employment. Musicians were expected to commit to services for the season and honor those commitments without exception. However, management was not so obligated. On several occasions, when the Board purportedly ran short of funds, it cancelled the first rehearsal with only a few days notice in order to save the expense of paying musicians. Music not available in advance, no listing of musicians\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in the program, key musicians cycled in and out of the orchestra by whim of the music director, lack of grievance process\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 all were commonplace and inarguable in the absence of contractual standards.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

an out-of-control music director:<\/p>\n

Over the 25+ year reign of the music director, the Federal Way Symphony became known throughout the Seattle-Tacoma region for mistreating musicians, particularly wind players. The orchestra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reputation was so infamous that it had difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified players both in sub and regular positions. Too many good musicians had been abused, handled unprofessionally, and purged. For those of us who remained committed, particularly in the woodwind section, the enjoyment of playing regularly with other fine musicians won out\u00e2\u20ac\u201cbarely\u00e2\u20ac\u201cover frequent mistreatment and abuse.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

and purging of “trouble makers”:<\/p>\n

It was obvious that the music director planned to purge the people he perceived to be responsible for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153stirring up trouble.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d What was inexcusable was the manner in which it was done, which was designed to humiliate and belittle us. We were led to believe that our status with the orchestra had not changed and that we should attend the rehearsal. Upon finding our chairs occupied, we would disappear and thereby serve as an example to the rest of the orchestra.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If even half of what is told in this blog is accurate, the Federal Way Symphony is a travesty of orchestral mis-management. When a conductor has the board in their pocket (he is a very wealthy individual) he has virtually unlimited power, and you know how the old saying goes…<\/p>\n

Take a look, and if you feel so moved, go on over to the FWS website<\/a> and make your displeasure known<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just caught this new blog by the former principal clarinetist of the Federal Way Symphony, located midway between Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. For those of you who might wonder why union orchestras have contracts to cover working conditions and termination of employees among other matters – these blog entries pretty much sum it up. We’d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[115,2],"tags":[86,55,62],"class_list":["post-512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-conductor","tag-orchestra","tag-symphony"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-8g","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3140,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/09\/19\/orchestra-news-roundup\/","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":0},"title":"orchestra news roundup","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"As promised - enjoy! 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Honolulu Symphony gets\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"underwood5small","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/underwood5small.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":191,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/02\/01\/colorado-symphony-signs-new-deal\/","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":1},"title":"colorado symphony signs new deal","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"From the Rocky Mountain News: Colorado Symphony officials today announced the ratification of a three-year contract with the musicians of the orchestra. The deal marks the first multi-year agreement since a five-year contract expired in 2003; single-year extensions had been approved since then. The new contract, which runs through the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3102,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/09\/11\/oregon-symphony-players-approve-contract\/","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":2},"title":"oregon symphony players approve contract","author":"Charles Noble","date":"September 11, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The voting results were announced at this morning's rehearsal: the Oregon Symphony players have voted to ratify the contract proposal hammered out over the summer.\u00a0 I'll have more details when a formal press release is issued.\u00a0 Many thanks to our tireless Negotiating Committee for their service to the orchestra!","rel":"","context":"In "labor issues"","block_context":{"text":"labor issues","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/labor-issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14158,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2016\/07\/05\/oregon-symphony-announces-kalmar-contract-renewal\/","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":3},"title":"oregon symphony announces kalmar contract renewal","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Since The Oregonian doesn't cover the Oregon Symphony anymore (presumably because it's not prime click bait like naked Shakespeare or Obama mortgage rates), it has probably gone unnoticed amongst the general OSO patron population that \u00a0Carlos Kalmar just signed a three-year contract renewal with the Oregon Symphony. The bigger news\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conducting"","block_context":{"text":"conducting","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/conducting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/kalmar16_cr_Leah_Nash_original-e1467756129278.jpg?fit=700%2C466&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/kalmar16_cr_Leah_Nash_original-e1467756129278.jpg?fit=700%2C466&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/kalmar16_cr_Leah_Nash_original-e1467756129278.jpg?fit=700%2C466&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/kalmar16_cr_Leah_Nash_original-e1467756129278.jpg?fit=700%2C466&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4063,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/02\/15\/former-pyp-conductor-named-md-of-memphis-symphony\/","url_meta":{"origin":512,"position":4},"title":"former PYP conductor named MD of Memphis Symphony","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Mei-Ann Chen, currently Assistant conductor of the Baltimore Symphony, has been named the new Music Director of the Memphis Symphony! 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